President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “I hope that for you [studying the scriptures] will become something far more enjoyable than a duty; that, rather, it will become a love affair with the word of God. I promise you that as you read, your minds will be enlightened and your spirits will be lifted” (“The Light within You,” Ensign, May 1995, 99).

President J. Reuben Clark Jr. once told a group of teachers in the Church: “You are to teach this Gospel using as your sources and authorities the Standard Works [scriptures] of the Church, and the words of those whom God has called to lead His people in these last days” (The Charted Course of the Church in Education [1938], 9).

Show the children your scriptures and tell them how much you love the scriptures. Invite the children to say “scriptures.” Tell them that we learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ from the scriptures; we learn that They love us and want us to be happy.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accepts four books as scripture: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. These books are called the standard works of the Church. The inspired words of our living prophets are also accepted as scripture.

In a meeting with the Twelve Apostles, the Prophet Joseph Smith “told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (History of the Church, 4:461; see also the introduction to the Book of Mormon). As a Gospel Doctrine teacher, you have the opportunity this year to teach from “the most correct of any book on earth.”

The Lord has told us how we should obtain His word: “Seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). We follow this command by studying the scriptures diligently, with a believing heart and a commitment to obey the principles we learn. We also follow this command when we approach scripture study with prayer and fasting.